2005 Ford Escape Hybrid

2005 Ford Escape Hybrid Design and Equipment
“The 2005 Escape Hybrid builds on the success of this year’s redesign of the entire Escape line. To that fresh new look we have added the environmental qualities of a full hybrid and some great consumer features, including an optional navigation system and 110-volt power outlet.”

Fresh Design is New to Escape for 2005

Escape charges into the 2005 model year with a fresh look inside and out that combines Ford’s truck toughness with a refined, sporty look. Key elements on the Escape Hybrid include:

A Hybrid with Room for All Your “Stuff” All Escape Hybrids have a modern-faced instrument cluster with an integrated, multifunctional Message Center. This two-line, 24-character liquid-crystal display offers trip statistics like average fuel economy, distance-to-empty, an oil change reminder with estimated oil life and various warnings such as an open door, a bulb is burned out or the fuel cap needs tightening. An advanced navigation and hybrid status display is also available. With it, a 4-inch, color, liquid-crystal display serves as the audio system interface, a navigation system and a real-time “power path” offering visual indication of fuel consumption and the operating state of the hybrid system.

It shows, for example, if the battery is being charged or discharged; if energy is being recovered during braking; or if the electric drive is providing additional power.

The white-faced instrument panel gauges have markings designed for legibility and are ringed in warm steel-colored bezels. Standard on all models is a battery indicator dial that indicates if the hybrid battery is powering the electric motor or if it is being charged while braking or cruising.

Modern woven cloth is the standard seating material. Leather seating surfaces are part of an option package that includes a leather-wrapped steering wheel and leather door inserts. The 60/40 split rear seat can be folded flat for increased cargo space (up to 65.5 cubic feet), and the flip-up rear glass offers easy access to the rear cargo area.

The glove box locks, and each front door includes large, deep map pockets. The spare wheel on all 2005 Escapes has been moved under the floor, rather than inside. To prevent theft, it can be lowered by a winch operated only with the tailgate open.

The available Safety Package includes a Ford Motor Company exclusive Safety Canopy side air curtain rollover protection system and the thorax-protecting side impact air bags (late availability on conventional Escape)

Safety belt pretensioners tighten the front safety belts in the first moments of a crash, and energy management retractors gradually slacken the safety belt, if necessary, to help reduce the force of the belt on the occupant’s chest. As always, a vehicle occupant’s best line of defense in crashes remains the safety belt.

Occupant Classification Sensing Tailors Air Bag Deployment

Occupant Classification Sensing builds on the strength of the Personal Safety System to tailor deployment of the single-stage front passenger air bag. If the passenger seat sensor detects no weight on the seat – or very little weight, such as a newspaper or a jacket – the passenger air bag automatically is switched off.

If more weight is on the seat, as with a small child, the air bag remains turned off and a lighted indicator in the center stack alerts the driver with the message “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF.” If an adult is seated properly in the passenger seat, the air bag automatically is switched on, ready to inflate within milliseconds, if needed. The safest place for children is in the rear seat, properly restrained.

Safety Package: A Ford Motor Company Exclusive

The Escape Hybrid’s optional Safety Package includes the Safety Canopy side curtain air bag system and thorax-protecting side impact air bags.

Pioneered on the 2003 Explorer, the Safety Canopy side curtain air bags provide enhanced side impact and rollover protection by deploying from the headliner in certain types of rollover and side-impact situations. A sensor monitors the vehicle’s roll angle and rate. If the system determines a rollover may be imminent, the Safety Canopy deploys and remains inflated for several seconds. Escape is the only vehicle in its segment to offer a system with this rollover protection function.

Thorax-protecting air bags are available for the front seat occupants to reduce the possibility of serious chest injuries in the event of a side impact.

Reinforced Structure for Protection in Offset Frontal Impacts

For 2005, Escape’s front structure is upgraded to provide increased protection in offset frontal crashes. In these types of accidents, only a portion of the front structure must bear the full brunt of the impact.

To help manage these crash forces, the front rails have structural composite reinforcements to tailor the rate at which they absorb energy and help prevent deformation of the passenger compartment.